DATE: Wednesday, September 3, 2008
TIME: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: UNLV Student Union Theatre; Free and Open to the Public
Multicultural educator and researcher Sonia Nieto will kick off UNLV's celebration of Latina/Latino Heritage Month Sept. 3 with a discussion of multicultural education and how it relates to teacher preparation and student success in urban public schools. Nieto is currently professor emerita of language, literacy and culture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Nieto's celebrated career in education includes work as a researcher, educator and advocate of multicultural education, particularly the education of Latinos and other culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. Her research is widely used for teacher preparation nationwide, including her most recent book, "Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education." In addition, Nieto is among the nation's most recognized experts on educational equity and social justice, having earned distinction from the National Association of Multicultural Education, the National Council of Teachers of English and the American Educational Research Association, among others.
The event is co-sponsored by the UNLV Office of the Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion; Nevada State College; College of Southern Nevada; Clark County School District; UNLV Research Center for Social Justice; UNLV Institute for Multicultural Education and Diversity Training; and the UNLV Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education.
UNLV is hosting a series of free events to commemorate Latina/Latino Heritage Month, including a celebration of art and culture Sept. 25 and a Student of Color Leadership Symposium Oct. 10. For more information on these events, please contact Jose Melendrez at 895-5604.
About Latina/Latino Heritage Month
Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week in September of 1968. In 1988, the observance was expanded to a month-long celebration beginning September 15 and concluding on October 15.
Hispanic Heritage Month highlights and celebrates the history, culture, and traditions of U.S. residents who trace their roots to the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean, as well as Mexico. September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence from colonial rule of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.
There were an estimated 46.7 million Hispanic people in the United States, including Puerto Rico, as of July 1, 2005, making people of Hispanic origin 15 percent of our total population, as well as the nation's largest racial minority.
